1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drag mechanisms for conventional and spinning reels and, more particularly, to a drag apparatus utilizing drag washers of different materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art teaches fishing reels showing stacks of drag washers comprising metal washers having peripheral protrusions alternating with washers made of a friction material without peripheral protrusions. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,488,689, 4,796,828, 3,682,411, 5,603,465, and 4,728,054, all of which pertain to spinning style fishing reels; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,760,736 which pertains to a motor-driven spool and clutch mechanism for a fishing reel.
In a conventional reel, the drag works as a clutch between the main gear and the gear stud. The drag setting will determine the torque needed to rotate the main gear relative to the gear stud. In prior art reels, the drag consists of alternating friction material washers and metal washers nested in a pocket in the main gear. A typical stack would consist of a friction material washer, a metal washer keyed to the gear stud, another friction material washer, a metal washer keyed to the main gear, a third friction material washer, and finally a second metal washer keyed to the gear stud. When the main gear rotates relative to the gear stud, three drag surfaces work to resist this rotation. The main gear turns relative to the first washer keyed to the gear stud. The first washer keyed to the-, gear stud turns relative to the first washer keyed to the main gear; and the first washer keyed to the main gear turns relative to the second washer keyed to the gear stud. These three pairs sandwich the three friction material washers; resulting in only three effective drag surfaces.
It is desirable to increase the performance of these drag mechanisms. These mechanisms all exhibit a slipping characteristic; that is, the prior art mechanisms stuck and then slipped when the drag was used. Only one side of each friction material washer was forced to move relative to its adjoining washer.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to improve upon the drag produced by that mechanism and greatly improve the effectiveness of the drag apparatus.
A further object of this invention is to provide a ready means of varying the drag by varying the arrangements of the drag washers to adjust for different kinds of fishing; where the same number of washers are used in the drag mechanism.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.